Black-Owned Ad Tech Company Launches First-Of-Its-Kind Machine Learning Powered Media Buying Platform

A Black-owned media and ad tech company is aiming to drive the advertising industry into the future.

AdTheorent, a machine-learning solutions provider, and tech company Hero Media have joined forces to launch the first ML-Powered Black-owned DSP in programmatic advertising, Hero One. It aims to use cutting-edge technology to turbocharge audience creation and media-buying.

The move is critical, as many companies still grapple with reaching target audiences while not falling into the trap of making minority consumers feel unseen by advertisements.

Black spending power topped out at about $1.6 trillion in 2023, but 60% of consumers from diverse groups shared they felt “invisible or underrepresented” in ads, according to a survey by the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing.

Because of this, is using cutting edge machine learning technology to help companies target key audiences in an authentic way.

“AdTheorent is thrilled to partner with Hero Media to power the first ML-Powered Black-owned DSP that will enable advertisers to target and reach diverse audiences at scale like never before,” said Jim Lawson, CEO of AdTheorent in a statement. “Combining Hero Media’s Black-owned media network and data with AdTheorent’s award-winning machine learning media buying platform and algorithmic audience creation solutions will elevate multicultural programmatic advertising beyond assumptions-based retargeting.”

Joe Anthony, Founder and Chairman of Hero Media adds: “Black and diverse owned media companies still only get a fraction of the $300+ Billion spent every year on advertising in the U.S., and as more brands move to audience and data-driven targeting approaches, the greater the adverse impact on diverse owned media. There is little to no diverse ownership in AdTech and with more investment going to programmatic advertising, it’s imperative that we have greater equity in the platforms that will dictate where and how money is allocated to Black and diverse owned media brands — and that’s why we are launching Hero One.”